India’s ICICI Bank Exits Antwerp

RAPAPORT... India’s ICICI Bank will shut its branch in Antwerp on
March 29, becoming the latest lender to quit the Belgian diamond market.

The move followed a strategic review of ICICI’s business
operations in the country, a spokesperson for the company confirmed Wednesday.
The bank has asked customers to close their accounts by February 28, according
to a December 28 note to its clients, seen by Rapaport News.

India-based Union Bank also announced it was leaving the
Antwerp market last year, citing the disappointing performance of its diamond
business. Belgium’s KBC closed its Antwerp Diamond Bank in 2014, while
London-based Standard Chartered stopped extending credit to the midstream in
2016.